Page 79 of The Singing Trees
“It’s not silly at all,” he said.
Feeling the rush of that experience, Annalisa sipped her rum drink and continued. “I could feel both the dad’s love for his son and the son’s reliance on his father like they were my own feelings.” She paused. “You never quite master art—not many people do—but I know that I’ve finally found my voice. It’s always been about people, but I’ve finally figured out how to truly bring them to life.” She lowered her voice, looking into the eyes of the man she’d never stopped loving. “It’s about opening yourself up in the real world. An artist can’t hide in her studio and make magic. She has to get out there and love. My voice is all about and because of love. Because of my love for Nonna, for Walt...for you.”
His cheeks filled with joy.
She put her hand on his thigh. “It doesn’t have to mean that all my paintings have to be lovey-dovey, not at all. That was the me that was all giddy about you back in high school, painting those silly red hearts.” No, the paintings she’d done since Nonna and Walt’s kiss had come from the soul of her being, and they were real and honest, nothing mushy about them.
He pretended to be upset. “You’re not all giddy about me now?”
“Giddy is only the start of it now,” she admitted. “I’m just saying...the painting I did of Nonna and Walt and the ones I’ve done since have come from deep within, a very real and honest place. I guess that’s what my voice is. People loving people.”
He smiled proudly. “That’s my girl,” he said. “That’s my girl.”
She shrugged. “Forever and always.”
Running with that idea, he asked, “So what happens when I get back home? Between you and me. Is it forever and always?”
Though she’d thought about it, she had no idea. “You still want to go to New York for dental school, right?”
He kissed her with pineapple breath. “After this whole mess, I just want to get back and be with you. I want to be among people loving people. I can take or leave dental school. I can go wherever you need to be for your career.”
She smiled at the thought of how lucky she was to have found him. In fact, she allowed herself to imagine, for the first time, a rich life with Thomas Barnes. Had she changed so much in a few months? Was the grief that had plagued her going away? Yes. Yes, it was...
He seemed to grow lighter with every passing minute, and soon he was inching closer to her, kissing her and touching her. She was loving every minute of it, his touch, his love, the setting, and when the Guess Who came on the radio singing, “No Sugar Tonight,” she smiled at the lyrics she heard in her head.
As the band sang the chorus, Annalisa sang to Thomas, “No sugar tonight for poor Thomas, no sugar tonight for my T.”
It was Thomas who laughed first, and then they were folded over, making the others at the bar turn to see what in the world was going on.
With an irresistible grin, he said, “So what do you say we move this party to the minibar?”
After polishing off their drinks, he reached for her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. They laughed all the way back to the room, but once they realized what lay behind the hotel door, their playfulnessshifted. Keeping her gaze, he let go of her hand to jiggle the key into the lock, and when he pushed the door open, Annalisa felt her entire body swell with desire.
With ease, he picked her up and pushed open the door with his side. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in the intoxicating scent of suntan lotion and the sea.
With her still in his arms, he carried her to the bed and then gently placed her down. His eyes penetrated her with such intense desire that she thought her white gauze cover-up might lift itself off her body.
“I’m so happy, Anna.”
“Oh yeah?” she said as she pulled him on top of her. “Why’s that?”
He kissed her softly. “Because you’re here and because we’re back together and because I’m...I’m so tired of being without you.”
Her lips pulsed as she tasted the remnants of salt lingering from their day at the beach. “I’m tired of being without you too. I love you, Thomas. Don’t ever think differently.”
“I’ve never doubted it.” A smile played at one corner of his mouth. “We just had to wait for you to come around.”
She lifted her hips to pull off her cover-up, revealing the bottoms of her flower-patterned bikini. She raised her hands as Thomas helped her out of it and tossed it aside. Looking up at him with a smirk, she nodded her consent.
He lowered himself on top of her, and her pelvis arched toward him, wanting to feel hard evidence of her effect on him. Needing more of his skin, she unbuttoned his shirt and traced the scars and scratches of his time in the jungle with her fingers. He followed her lead with gentle hands as he reached behind her and unhooked the clasp of her top. They continued to undress each other until the two beings became one.
As she was swept away by this man, she understood exactly what it meant to make love, and she knew that she was absolutely ready. He was gentle but wild, a man attempting to tame a tiger, and they pressedinto each other with such passion that the walls of her heart shook, and a blast of colors splashed onto the canvas of her soul.
The week took on wings, and they rarely left each other’s side, barely letting their eyes or hands or lips stray from each other. They took long walks on the beach after breakfast and spent their days sitting under an umbrella, or building sandcastles, or swimming, never running out of conversation. She never strayed far from her sketch pad and found endless inspiration there by the sea with the man she loved. They’d laugh to tears during dinner and then dance to the local bands until their inner urges led them back to the room.
On the last night, they meandered down the beach to a spot the concierge had recommended, where they tried sushi for the first time in their lives. Thomas was back to his old self and couldn’t stop talking.
Sitting across from Annalisa at a small table by the window, he picked up his chopsticks and attempted to pinch one of the pieces of tuna rolled in rice and seaweed. “What’s the point here? Why not just a fork?”
